A detail-in-context presentation may be considered as a distorted view (or distortion) of a region-of-interest in an original image where the distortion is the result of the application of a “lens” like distortion function to the original image. The lens distortion is typically characterized by magnification of a region-of-interest (the “focal region”) in an image where detail is desired in combination with compression of a region of the remaining information surrounding the region-of-interest (the “shoulder region”). The area of the image affected by the lens includes the focal region and the shoulder region. These regions define the perimeter of the lens. The shoulder region and the area surrounding the lens provide “context” for the “detail” in the focal region of the lens. The resulting detail-in-context presentation resembles the application of a lens to the image. A detailed review of various detail-in-context presentation techniques such as “Elastic Presentation Space” (“EPS”) may be found in a publication by Marianne S. T. Carpendale, entitled “A Framework for Elastic Presentation Space” (Carpendale, Marianne S. T., A Framework for Elastic Presentation Space (Burnaby, British Columbia: Simon Fraser University, 1999)), which is incorporated herein by reference.
One problem relating to detail-in-context lenses in detail-in-context presentations is that occlusion of information in the lenses may occur under certain conditions. For example, if the focal region is magnified to the extent that it approaches or meets the perimeter of the lens, the shoulder region may be occluded. Such an event reduces the ability of the detail-in-context presentation to convey the relationship between the detail in the focal region and the context in the surrounding image.
A need therefore exists for a method and system for reducing shoulder region occlusion in detail-in-context presentations. Accordingly, a solution that addresses, at least in part, the above and other shortcomings is desired.